The sky was so beautiful tonight, it took my breath away.

It has been cloudy for a solid two weeks now, but I didn't mind. I have been observing and pondering over how much weather affects mood. I have heard of, and even witness to a certain extent, SAD but something about the past two weeks is different than what I have seen thus far. I'm not quite ready to delve much further yet-- perhaps another post somewhere down the road.

I have come to an appreciation of weather. I love the true beauty of nature, especially in its purest form. It is powerful. In an instant, mass destruction can occur. In the very next, or quite possibly even the same instant, a rainbow graces us with its presence.

What I wonder is if others marvel at and appreciate the blue sky daily or if it remains the backdrop to their day. One of my favorite part of each day is allowing the weather to surround me. To embrace it and appreciate it.

The fog lately has been mystifying. The clouds made me take another look at what we see below the sky. The trees. The melting snow. How it seemed odd to have less than a foot of snow on the ground and how the snow piles which were three stories high are now about one story high. The water on the ground with random ice and snow chunks made obstacle courses; we looked like little kids jumping from one to another. I didn't mind walking outside because it was warm and there's something peaceful about walking in the rain.

Last night, I walked outside after teaching TaeKwon-Do and all I could do is look at the sky. It was a deep deep navy blue, such a deep blue that many mistake it for black. The clouds were thinning out and three, four, five...stars began to shine their bright shine, waiting for us to accept their beauty. I couldn't stop looking.

This morning, the sun greeted me (along with several sneezes that come with my walking out into the sunshine) and everyone was smiling again.

Tonight, tonight was beautiful. I walked out from teaching again and the sky was the most beautiful series of blues I have ever seen. As I looked over to the skyline, I literally stopped in my tracks (in the middle of the parking lot). The trees were black in the low light and between the limbs there was a bright, pure blue. And as the limbs went up and narrowed towards the end, the sky turned with them to a deep royal blue, nearly an aqua, fading into a deep navy blue. Looking straight up, the sky was a warm black, wrapping its arms around a few pure stars ready to shine their way through the night. When I brought my eyes back down, I saw the moon, hiding behind the twigs at the top of the trees. Its sliver, missed by most-- only giving it a single glance, was what completed the image in front of me. I instantly wanted my camera in hopes of capturing the moment, hoping to hang onto it for more than just the few blinks of an eye I was given to enjoy it. Then I realized that the camera never would have caught the image truly. Moments like these, the sky, the moon, the trees, only existed in a way where one has to be willing to slow down, quieting themselves, and truly taking in what is around them for it to be seen.

I have to say, I am thankful that this was a moment I was given.